CLEAR Conversations

UC Davis CLEAR Center
  • 1.0 (1)
  • Science
  • Updated Biweekly

The way food is produced touches everyone, yet most of us are far removed from the farms and ranches where it all begins. That’s the driving idea behind a new podcast from the UC Davis CLEAR Center. Called “CLEAR Conversations,” the show aims to bring together voices from across the agricultural and scientific communities to spark meaningful dialogue about farming, food, and sustainability. Hosted by CLEAR Center Director and greenhouse gas expert Dr. Frank Mitloehner, along with members of the CLEAR Center communications staff, the podcast will break down complex topics—like climate change, livestock emissions, and the future of food—into clear, relatable conversations.

  1. 2d ago

    Can Byproducts of the Farming Industry Reduce Methane in Cattle?

    In this episode of CLEAR Conversations, researcher, professor and director of the World Food Center, Ermias Kebreab discussed his research on methane reduction strategies in livestock production—work that has helped position UC Davis as a global leader in agricultural sustainability research. Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clear-conversations/id1844923534 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0EsxxMUuHGRysasRq5k1bS iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/299490214 Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/94808eee-a498-49ec-a3da-9bae97d0250d

    30 min

  2. May 13

    Why Animals Do What They Do

    At the UC Davis CLEAR Center, understanding animals goes beyond observing behavior—it’s about uncovering how animals think and interact with the world around them. In this episode of CLEAR Conversations, host Tracy Sellers sat down with Kristina Horback to explore the growing field of animal cognition and what it means for animal welfare, livestock management, and the future of sustainable agriculture.

    31 min

  3. Apr 27

    Teaching the Next Generation of Swine Producers

    On this episode of the CLEAR Conversations podcast, host Tracy Sellers visits the swine facility at University of California, Davis to speak with swine manager Shelby Sopocy about how her work helps educate students, supports research and also helps to bridge the gap between agriculture and the general public. The UC Davis swine facility is a farrow-to-finish operation, meaning pigs are born, raised, and finished all in one location. According to Sopocy, that makes the facility a unique hands-on learning environment for students studying animal science, veterinary medicine, and agriculture. Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clear-conversations/id1844923534 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0EsxxMUuHGRysasRq5k1bS iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/299490214 Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/94808eee-a498-49ec-a3da-9bae97d0250d

    33 min

  4. Apr 8

    How to Build Real Connections in Cattle Ranching

    It’s a somewhat surprising confession from someone who delivered a standout presentation to a packed room on leadership and communication at the NCBA’s annual event, CattleCon. But as a first-generation rancher, Johnston’s path into ranching has never really followed a predictable script. She didn’t grow up in agriculture. She didn’t show cattle. She didn’t even know what FFA was. She actually grew up in a Denver suburb—closer to Starbucks than stockyards. And now she splits her time between large-scale ranch production and consulting on communication and strategy within the industry. Her story begins, improbably enough, with an environmental studies degree from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

    37 min

  5. Mar 23

    Protecting and Preserving the Ability of Farmers to Continue Producing Food

    As Tracy Sellers kicks off the latest episode of the CLEAR Conversations podcast, at the UC Davis Beef Barn, the occasional rustle of cattle in the background offers a fitting reminder of what’s at the heart of it all: real animals, real people, and an industry that rarely gets to tell its full story. And with National Ag Day approaching, it’s exactly the right moment to have that conversation—about what agriculture looks like in California today, and why it matters more than ever. That’s what brings Shannon Douglass to the table. As the first woman to lead the California Farm Bureau Federation as its president, in its more than 100-year history of the non-profit organization, Douglass represents thousands of farmers and ranchers across the state. But the conversation isn’t about titles—it’s about telling the story of California agriculture at a time when many people are more disconnected from it than ever before.

    15 min

  6. Mar 4

    Evolution of Cattle Farming

    The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production. Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability. That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement. Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clear-conversations/id1844923534 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0EsxxMUuHGRysasRq5k1bS iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/299490214 Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/94808eee-a498-49ec-a3da-9bae97d0250d

    26 min

  7. Feb 19

    Cattle Trade and Stewardship of the Land

    At the annual National Cattlemen’s Beef Association event, CattleCon in Nashville, host Tracy Sellers took the Clear Conversations podcast on the road. Her guest was someone who knows that event well—California rancher Tony Toso of Mariposa County. Part cattleman, part appraiser, part policy advocate, Toso represents a generation of producers who balance life on the land with leadership. Toso ranches in the Sierra foothills, but in Nashville, he was wearing another hat: chair of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association’s International Trade Committee. Exports, he explained, are not an abstract policy discussion. They are dollars and cents at the ranch level. “When we sell an animal in a sea container,” he said, referring to boxed beef shipped overseas, “that contributes about $400 a head to the value of that animal.” In a business where margins are often thin and risk is constant, that $400 matters.

    13 min

  8. Jan 21

    Sustainability VS. Stewardship, What's the Difference?

    This week on CLEAR Conversations, Katie Roberti sat down for a conversation that reflects both her roots and her mission. As Director of Communications for the California Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), Roberti spends her days translating the realities of ranching into language policymakers, media, and the public can understand. But her connection to agriculture is far more personal than professional. Dr. Kelly Nichols, Assistant Professor at UC Davis sits down with CLEAR Conversations host, Tracy Sellers. The Nichols Lab focuses on characterizing the digestive and metabolic flexibility of dairy cattle to elevate our understanding of dietary protein and energy interactions, mammary gland metabolism, and postabsorptive nutrient utilization to improve the transfer of dietary nutrients into milk. Her lab conducts studies investigating metabolite flux at the tissue level (e.g., mammary gland), energy and nitrogen balance, digestibility, and milk production in response to nutritional interventions. Further, she is interested in how the postabsorptive efficiencies of nutrients (e.g., amino acids) interact and change with the physiological state of the cow throughout lactation. Listen on: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/clear-conversations/id1844923534 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0EsxxMUuHGRysasRq5k1bS iHeartRadio: https://iheart.com/podcast/299490214 Amazon Music/Audible: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/94808eee-a498-49ec-a3da-9bae97d0250d

    37 min
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About

The way food is produced touches everyone, yet most of us are far removed from the farms and ranches where it all begins. That’s the driving idea behind a new podcast from the UC Davis CLEAR Center. Called “CLEAR Conversations,” the show aims to bring together voices from across the agricultural and scientific communities to spark meaningful dialogue about farming, food, and sustainability. Hosted by CLEAR Center Director and greenhouse gas expert Dr. Frank Mitloehner, along with members of the CLEAR Center communications staff, the podcast will break down complex topics—like climate change, livestock emissions, and the future of food—into clear, relatable conversations.

Information

  • Creator
    UC Davis CLEAR Center
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 All Rights Reserved
  • Show Website
    CLEAR Conversations